The Dog
New York City, New York | Film Feature
Documentary
After a decade, "The Dog" is premiering at Toronto, and we need your help finishing the movie! As we raise the funds we need to get across the finish line with archival footage, graphics, etc., we're grateful for any support you can give -- please join our team and spread the word!
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This campaign raised $52,069 for post-production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
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After a decade, "The Dog" is premiering at Toronto, and we need your help finishing the movie! As we raise the funds we need to get across the finish line with archival footage, graphics, etc., we're grateful for any support you can give -- please join our team and spread the word!
In Partnership With
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
The Story
We began making THE DOG in 2002. A year earlier, we were watching DOG DAY AFTERNOON, and at the end, the film stated that the bank robber was sentenced to 20 years in prison. We counted wrong, and so, due to bad math, we mistakenly thought that the real-life bank robber, John Wojtowicz, was still in prison and would be released sometime that year.
We immediately thought that it would be interesting to find out what kind of a person he was, and we wanted to hear his story. A lot of great American films were made in the 1970s, but DOG DAY AFTERNOON was one of our favorites -- the story of an anti-hero, an outsider, a brazen New York character, brought to life on screen in an unforgettable performance by Al Pacino... We really wanted to meet the real-life person on whom it was based.
We looked up the name "Wojtowicz" and found John's mother, Terry, in Brooklyn. We told her we were doing some research and would like to speak with John. She was very sweet and told us she'd pass along the message. At about 2:00 am, the phone rang. This is the Dog calling. My mother told me you sounded sexy, so I'm calling you back. It wasn't the most professional beginning... but it was certainly memorable. We spent the next several hours on the phone with "The Dog."
John had been out of prison for years and was living in Brooklyn. We met in person soon after, and he recounted endless and bewildering stories about his life and lovers -- for about 8 hours straight. John made an impression immediately -- he was charismatic in his own way: hilarious, out of control, somewhat scary... and he seemed to speak his mind at all times.
Over the years, we became very close to "The Dog" and his mother Terry. There were many times that we visited them without a camera in hand, or with a camera but choosing not to shoot. The intimacy that comes across in the film was something that grew out of spending many days and evenings together, over a long period of time.
As outspoken as he was, it took some time for John to really open up and go beyond the immediate story of the bank robbery. And as we grew closer to him and his mother, we learned that there was much more to the story than what we were initially aware of. Had the film been made over the course of a year (which was the original plan), it would never have had the scope or the complexity that it ended up having.
As proud as we are of the film, it was also an important life experience for us. We tried to create a film in which audiences would have the opportunity to experience The Dog as we did -- someone who would make you laugh, surprise you, offend you and test you, sometimes all in the same moment.
John also shared an incredible wealth of archival material that he had kept. This gave us the ability to illustrate his story in a much more personal and unique way; the movie ended up being something like an off-the-wall, Forrest Gump-like ride through his life. It was a challenge to track the whole story down and piece it all together. But it was fascinating. And we were also able to film many of the people who figured so prominently in John's life, including his mother Terry and first wife Carmen, who added whole other layers to the story.
It's not often that you find a subject matter that can keep you interested and passionate for over a decade. Making this film hasn't been a very easy task, and it's certainly been a financial struggle. But we always came back to THE DOG. We wanted to tell this story, and we wanted audiences to see it.
I guess you could say that at some point, we couldn't stop making this movie. At some point we knew that we had to finish what we started, and that we were the people who would really tell this story fully -- in all of its sex-crazed, unapologetic, shocking, hilarious and historically-significant glory. We hope you enjoy it.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Graphic Designer
Costs $4,500
*The graphic designers will make each photo come to life, bringing the film to a whole new level!
Titles Designer
Costs $1,500
*The title sequence of a film is uber-important: think "Saturday Night Fever" or "The Conversation."
Graphic Designer
Costs $1,500
*The poster for THE DOG will be a work of art created by Labour (www.labour-ny.com). This is key!!!
Archival Footage: 1970s NYC
Costs $2,500
*Authentic footage NYC in the 1970s will give THE DOG the gritty, authentic look it deserves.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Archival Footage
Costs $6,000
The robbery unfolded on television. See the event as it was reported live by the media.
Archival Footage
Costs $6,000
*See what The Dog was up to in the 80s.
Archival Footage
Costs $10,000
*What would this documentary be without the actual footage of the bank robbery? #mustsee
Archival Footage
Costs $5,000
*Archival footage of The Dog’s mother.
Archival Footage
Costs $1,000
*Curious about John's time in Lewisburg Prison? You've got to see the authentic 1970s footage.
Colorist
Costs $15,000
*We want our movie to look fantastic, so we need a great colorist and more!
Archival Photography
Costs $4,000
*Original photographs that depict the real-life events in the film will make the movie come alive!
Archival Photography
Costs $8,000
*Images of The Dog taken by 1970s iconic photographers.
Share this update!
About This Team
Allison Berg
Director/Producer
Allison Berg is an award-winning filmmaker who directs and produces feature-length documentary films and television documentary series. Allison's first film, Witches in Exile, focused on women accused of witchcraft and banished to remove villages in Northern Ghana. The film premiered at the 2004 SXSW Film Festival, where it won the Special Jury Award for Documentary Feature Film. Witches in Exile has screened at festivals throughout the world, and has both international television and educational distribution.
Berg has received grants from such prestigious foundations as the Soros Documentary Fund, New York State Council of the Arts, Eastman Fund, Wellspring Foundation, and Women in Film Foundation. Recent television credits include Supervising Producer and Director on documentary series and specials for broadcasters such as Sundance Channel, MTV, Oxygen, and A&E.
Frank Keraudren
Director/Producer/Editor
Frank Keraudren is an award-winning filmmaker with directing and editing credits in both documentary and narrative film. Frank co-directed and edited The Last Cigarette (New Yorker Films), Who Wants to Be President? (TLC), and Lust in Las Vegas (FX) with co-director Kevin Rafferty.
In 2004, he collaborated with Allison Berg on Witches in Exile (Special Jury Award, SXSW), which he also co-produced and edited. Editing credits include The Drug Years (Cine Eagle Award, IDA Award nomination), I Think I Do (Brian Sloan), and Little Red Riding Hood (David Kaplan). Frank received an MFA from NYU's Graduate Film program.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
The Story
We began making THE DOG in 2002. A year earlier, we were watching DOG DAY AFTERNOON, and at the end, the film stated that the bank robber was sentenced to 20 years in prison. We counted wrong, and so, due to bad math, we mistakenly thought that the real-life bank robber, John Wojtowicz, was still in prison and would be released sometime that year.
We immediately thought that it would be interesting to find out what kind of a person he was, and we wanted to hear his story. A lot of great American films were made in the 1970s, but DOG DAY AFTERNOON was one of our favorites -- the story of an anti-hero, an outsider, a brazen New York character, brought to life on screen in an unforgettable performance by Al Pacino... We really wanted to meet the real-life person on whom it was based.
We looked up the name "Wojtowicz" and found John's mother, Terry, in Brooklyn. We told her we were doing some research and would like to speak with John. She was very sweet and told us she'd pass along the message. At about 2:00 am, the phone rang. This is the Dog calling. My mother told me you sounded sexy, so I'm calling you back. It wasn't the most professional beginning... but it was certainly memorable. We spent the next several hours on the phone with "The Dog."
John had been out of prison for years and was living in Brooklyn. We met in person soon after, and he recounted endless and bewildering stories about his life and lovers -- for about 8 hours straight. John made an impression immediately -- he was charismatic in his own way: hilarious, out of control, somewhat scary... and he seemed to speak his mind at all times.
Over the years, we became very close to "The Dog" and his mother Terry. There were many times that we visited them without a camera in hand, or with a camera but choosing not to shoot. The intimacy that comes across in the film was something that grew out of spending many days and evenings together, over a long period of time.
As outspoken as he was, it took some time for John to really open up and go beyond the immediate story of the bank robbery. And as we grew closer to him and his mother, we learned that there was much more to the story than what we were initially aware of. Had the film been made over the course of a year (which was the original plan), it would never have had the scope or the complexity that it ended up having.
As proud as we are of the film, it was also an important life experience for us. We tried to create a film in which audiences would have the opportunity to experience The Dog as we did -- someone who would make you laugh, surprise you, offend you and test you, sometimes all in the same moment.
John also shared an incredible wealth of archival material that he had kept. This gave us the ability to illustrate his story in a much more personal and unique way; the movie ended up being something like an off-the-wall, Forrest Gump-like ride through his life. It was a challenge to track the whole story down and piece it all together. But it was fascinating. And we were also able to film many of the people who figured so prominently in John's life, including his mother Terry and first wife Carmen, who added whole other layers to the story.
It's not often that you find a subject matter that can keep you interested and passionate for over a decade. Making this film hasn't been a very easy task, and it's certainly been a financial struggle. But we always came back to THE DOG. We wanted to tell this story, and we wanted audiences to see it.
I guess you could say that at some point, we couldn't stop making this movie. At some point we knew that we had to finish what we started, and that we were the people who would really tell this story fully -- in all of its sex-crazed, unapologetic, shocking, hilarious and historically-significant glory. We hope you enjoy it.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Graphic Designer
Costs $4,500
*The graphic designers will make each photo come to life, bringing the film to a whole new level!
Titles Designer
Costs $1,500
*The title sequence of a film is uber-important: think "Saturday Night Fever" or "The Conversation."
Graphic Designer
Costs $1,500
*The poster for THE DOG will be a work of art created by Labour (www.labour-ny.com). This is key!!!
Archival Footage: 1970s NYC
Costs $2,500
*Authentic footage NYC in the 1970s will give THE DOG the gritty, authentic look it deserves.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Archival Footage
Costs $6,000
The robbery unfolded on television. See the event as it was reported live by the media.
Archival Footage
Costs $6,000
*See what The Dog was up to in the 80s.
Archival Footage
Costs $10,000
*What would this documentary be without the actual footage of the bank robbery? #mustsee
Archival Footage
Costs $5,000
*Archival footage of The Dog’s mother.
Archival Footage
Costs $1,000
*Curious about John's time in Lewisburg Prison? You've got to see the authentic 1970s footage.
Colorist
Costs $15,000
*We want our movie to look fantastic, so we need a great colorist and more!
Archival Photography
Costs $4,000
*Original photographs that depict the real-life events in the film will make the movie come alive!
Archival Photography
Costs $8,000
*Images of The Dog taken by 1970s iconic photographers.
Share this update!
About This Team
Allison Berg
Director/Producer
Allison Berg is an award-winning filmmaker who directs and produces feature-length documentary films and television documentary series. Allison's first film, Witches in Exile, focused on women accused of witchcraft and banished to remove villages in Northern Ghana. The film premiered at the 2004 SXSW Film Festival, where it won the Special Jury Award for Documentary Feature Film. Witches in Exile has screened at festivals throughout the world, and has both international television and educational distribution.
Berg has received grants from such prestigious foundations as the Soros Documentary Fund, New York State Council of the Arts, Eastman Fund, Wellspring Foundation, and Women in Film Foundation. Recent television credits include Supervising Producer and Director on documentary series and specials for broadcasters such as Sundance Channel, MTV, Oxygen, and A&E.
Frank Keraudren
Director/Producer/Editor
Frank Keraudren is an award-winning filmmaker with directing and editing credits in both documentary and narrative film. Frank co-directed and edited The Last Cigarette (New Yorker Films), Who Wants to Be President? (TLC), and Lust in Las Vegas (FX) with co-director Kevin Rafferty.
In 2004, he collaborated with Allison Berg on Witches in Exile (Special Jury Award, SXSW), which he also co-produced and edited. Editing credits include The Drug Years (Cine Eagle Award, IDA Award nomination), I Think I Do (Brian Sloan), and Little Red Riding Hood (David Kaplan). Frank received an MFA from NYU's Graduate Film program.